Hooped skirts and like garments



' Jan. 4, 1966 G, w. H. sTEvl-:Ns 3,226,730

HOOPED SKIRTS AND LIKE GARMENTS Original Filed Aug. 8. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Jam 4, 1965 G. w. H. STEVENS 3,226,730

HOOPED SKIRTS AND LIKE GARMENTS Original Filed Aug. 8. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A ttorne United States Patent O 3,226,730 HOGPED SKIRTS AND LIKE GARMENTS Geofrey William Hedges Stevens, Surrey, England (Merryway 159 Mytchett Road, Mytchett, Aldershot, Hampshire, England) Original application Aug. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 48,229. Divided and this application Apr. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 359,205

Claims. (Cl. 2-216) This invention relates to the manufacture of skirts and like garments of the type comprising a tubular body stiffened to a full shape by means of h-ooplike stiifening members.

The Vpresent invention is a division of my prior application Serial No. 48,229, filed August 8, 1960, now abandoned.

One of the most important present-day requirements for garments of this type is that the stiffening members should be sufficiently stiff to control the shape of the garment and yet suiiciently pliant to allow the garment to move freely so as to change its shape in response to the wearers movement. This is difficult to achieve in practice because of tne nature of the material which must be used to form the stiffening members. It has been found that material, such as nylon and polypropylene wire, having the requisite degre of stiffness and pliancy, is easier to obtain and handle in finite lengths. Whilst a number of pieces can be spliced end to end together to form a series of hoops or a spiral, fully strong joints are not nec* essarily convenient to use. On the other hand, a method of assembly which requires no joint, or a simple but weak connection, yet always maintains adequate stiffness to iexture, would be desirable.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of the type above referred to which avoids both the need for splicing and the need for using long lengths of material such as would be required for forming a continuous spiral in one piece.

It is also a general object of the invention to enable a garment having a multiple hoop-like stiffening structure to be quickly and easily made.

Two embodiments of the invention will nowbe described by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a garment having a spiral stiifening member;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view drawn to a larger scale showing a method of sewing a spiral stiifening member to a garment;

FIGURES 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and 3e are fragmentary sectional views showing stages in the process of sewing the stifening member to the garment corresponding to the lines a--a, b-b, c-c, d-d and e-'e of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view corresponding to FIGURE 2 showing an alternative method of attaching a spiral stiffening member to a garment;

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic representation correspon-ding to FIGURE l of a modified spiral form of stiffener; and

FIGURES 6 and 7 are detailed views showing two arrangements of stiffening members.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates an4 underskirt having a tubular fabric body 2 formed with a relatively small waist portion 3 and relatively large hem 4. The body 2 is stiffened by a spiral stiffening member 5 having a plurality of convolutions 6.

In its simplest form the stiffening member is a spiral in which each convolution has substantially the mechanical effect of a single closed circular hoop. This construction is more effective when there are a large number of convolutions. The top and bottom convolutions ice may be brought into such close proximity that the force transmitted through the fabric framework or holding material 2 i-s sufficiently large to prevent the spiral from screwing to a smaller diameter under the weight of the skirts. The uppermost and lowermost convolutions v are made circular as shown in FIGURES 1 and 4 each end of the stitfening member being held close to the adjacent convolution so as to form a substantially complete ring.

The spiral stiffening member 5 is made of a nylon or a polypropylene wire which is sufficiently stili to control the shape of the skirt 1 and yet pliant enough to allow the garment to move freely so as to change its shape in response to the wearers movements. To ensure correct control of the shape of the skirt I, the stitfening member 5 is composed of pre-straightened lengths of wire built up into a continuous run by using a number of such lengths overlapping.

The spiral stiffening wires are attached to the fabric body 2 by being enclosed in a tubular pocket which may be formed either by making a spiral tuck in the fabric body or by sewing, sticking or lotherwise attaching a strip of material to the body.

FIGURES 2 and 3a to 3e illustrate a method of sewing the wires into a tuck in Vthe body 2 of the skirt. In this method, the spiral tuck 7 is started at the point k (FIG- URES l and 2) and proceeds in the direction of the arrow with an appreciable length of the stiffening member projecting beyond the starting point, Since the stiftening member is built up of overlapping lengths of wire as described above, it is composed of at least two wires laid side by side over most of its length. This is illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3 by showing each stiffening member as being composed of two wires throughout its length. To obtain an overlap pieces must be staggered so that the I ends of a spiral can be a single piece of wire.

Before the tuck 7 has been sewn completely round the skirt, the extremity p of the projecting end of the stiftening member is received into the tunnel being formed by the tuck, which then proceeds for a short distance with two convolutions of the stiifening member (i.e. four wires) contained in it as shown in FIGURE 3b. When the tuck has been sewn completely round the skirt, stitching is continued along a line closely parallel to the original stitching so that two tunnels each containing one convolution of the stiifening member 5 (two wires) are formed side by `side as shown in FIGURE 3c the second tunnel 7a being the continuation of the origin-al tunnel 7. As the stitching continues, the continuation 7a is pulled away from the original tunnel '7 and at the same time the line of stitches being formed is brought nearer to the previously formed line of stitches as shown in FIGURE 3d. The foot of the sewing machine is then raised to enable the tunnel 7 and the stiffening member 5 contained in it (composed of two wires) to be moved under the needle thereby allowing stitching to the continued along a line l as shown in FIGURE 3e. Stitching along the line l continues until the last convolution is reached. The last convolution is stitched along a closed circle like the first so that the tunnel being formed again runs closely besides that previously formed. The foot of the sewing machine is then lifted to allow the previously formed tunnel with the member 5 contained therein to pass under the needle. The two tunnels then run parallel with one another as in FIGURE 3c. The last lengths of wire S may now be cut, leaving a few inches to be sewn in and enclosed by continued operation of the sewing machine. Alternatively, the tunnel formation may continue as far as may be necessary to reach the end of the last length of material.

FIGURE 4 illustrates an alternative construction in which the stitfening member 5 is contained in a tunnel 3% formed by sewing a strip of material 3 to the body 2v of the skirt. The two edges of the strip 8 are' sewn to the skirt by means of a double-needle sewing machine starting at the point k in FIGURE 4 and proceeding in the direction of the arrow. The extremity pof the stitfening member is left projecting rearwards from the starting point and is taken into the tunnel formed by the strip 8 when the tunnel reaches that point after passing almost completely round the skirt. Sewing is then continued along the same line until the loop is completely closed after which it is deflected so as to continue along the spiral line l. The stitching along one edge of the strip 8 is interrupted at 1G where one of the needles of the machine must pass over the member 5.

When the lowermost convolution is reached, the strip 5 is sewn completely round the skirt at the same level so as to form a completely closed hoop at the bottom like that at the top. When the hoop has been completely closed, the operation of stitching the strip 5 to the body 2 is continued for a short distance over the previously stitched strip and is terminated at a point corresponding to the point p in FIGURE 4.

As has previously been indicated, the stiifening member is composed of a number of lengths of wire built up into a continuous run by laying the lengths side by side in mutually overlapping relationship so that there are at least two wires S lying side by side for most of the run. The degree of overlap is determined by the characteristic way in which the wire will sew into a particular type of cloth. Most materials, particularly rayon, stretch along the length of the tunnel and the Wire appears to be in too tightly. Moreover, it is desirable to have the tunnel slightly full in the direction of the length of the wire for both technical reasons and for appearance. Itis therefore advantageous to have two lengths of wire overlapped most of the run, except for a few inches, which length represents approximately the amount the tunnel should be allowed to slacken on the wires. As a final adjustment the wires can be pulled together so that there is effectively a double wire over the whole run of the spiral.

When the wires 5, 5 are of relatively large diameter, the diameter of the tunnel 7 into which they are sewn may be made to t very closely round the wires as shown in FIGURE 6 so that the extremities 11 of successive lengths of wire are kept in alignment with one another. When the diameter of the wires 5, 5 is too small to enable them to be kept in alignment by the tunnel 7, successive'lengths of wire 5 may be coupled together by closely fitting sleeves 12 (as shown in FIGURE 7). The sleeves 12 may be made of nylon or other pliant material.

To achieve a more level appearance than is possible with a uniform spiral stitfening member such as thatshown in FIGURE l, it is advantageous to windl each coil 6 of the stitfening in a closed circle as shown in FIGURE 5, each complete coil being joined to the next by a connecting length 13 (FIGURE 5 of the stiffening material 5 which runs part way round the skirt and part way along its length so that the coils 6 can be spaced apart along the length of the tube. The connecting lengths 13 are preferably arranged in a regular spiral as shown in FIGURE 5 so that the stiffening has the appearance a set of horizontal hoops intersected by a well pitched spiral. Where each coil 6 closes on itself as at g in FIGURE 5, it cornes' as close to the preceding convolution as possible, i.e., to a distance equal to the width of the foot of the sewing machine.

I claim:

1. A hooped skirt or like garment comprising a tubular fabric body having a continuous substantially spiral tubular pocket surrounding and extending substantially from the top to the bottom of Said skirt, and a stiffening member within the pocket and coiled around the body, said stiffening member being composed of a number of separate pre-straightened finite lengths of wire loosely overlapping one another substantially throughout their lengths and thereby forming a substantially continuous `separable double Wire run throughout most ofthe length of the stiffening member and pocket, said stiffening member wire comprising one of the group consisting of nylon and polypropylene, and being of small diameter.

2. In a hooped skirt as set forth in claim 1, said pocket comprising a tuck fixed in the body.

3. In a hooped skirt as set forth in 'claim 1, said pocket comprising a strip of material having its sides amxed to the body.

4. In a hooped skirt as set forth in claim 1, stitfening member comprising a plurality of substantially parallel circular convolutions' joined by connecting lengths arranged along a spiral line intersecting said circular convolutions.

5. In a hooped skirt as set forth in claim 1, said stiffening member comprising an uppermost convolution in the form of a closed circle; a lowermost convolution in the form of a closed circle; at least one intermediate convolution substantially closed on itself; and a spirally extending connecting length between each convolution and an adjacent one.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 21,479 9/1858 Beberdy 2-2l6 30,838 12v/1860 Rollin 2-216 34,737 3/1862 Burnham 2-216 514,86l 2/1894 Lockwoodv 2-216 2,706,295 4/1955 Schlegel 2-216 2,843,851- 7/1958 Tate v 2-216 3,123,833 10/1964 Stevens 2-216 FOREIGN PATENTS 212,438 11/1957 Australia.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A HOOPED SKIRT OR LIKE GARMENT COMPRISING A TUBULAR FABRIC BODY HAVING A CONTINUOUS SUBSTANTIALLY SPIRAL TUBULAR POCKET SURROUNDING AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID SKIRT, AND A STIFFENING MEMBER WITHIN THE POCKET AND COILED AROUND THE BODY, SAID STIFFENING MEMBER BEING COMPOSED OF A NUMBER OF SEPARATE PRE-STRAIGHTENED FINITE LENGTHS OF WIRE LOOSELY OVERLAPPING ONE ANOTHER SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT THEIR LENGTHS AND THEREBY FORMING A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS SEPARABLE DOUBLE WIRE RUN THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE LENGTH OF THE STIFFENING MEMBER AND POCKET, SAID SITTIFFENING MEMBER WIRE COMPRISING ONE OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF NYLON AND POLYPROPYLENE, AND BEING OF SMALL DIAMETER. 